This special release beer is an Americanized (i.e. hopped up) version of a traditional English bitter. Bitters are low alcohol (3 to 4.5% abv) pale ales that are often dry hopped and served on cask. Our take on the style is suitably sessionable at a modest 4% abv, but we wanted to turn it up a notch in the hop department – so instead of using the mellower English hop varieties we blasted it with a blend of Centennial and Chinook in the kettle, followed by a hefty dry hop with more Centennial. The result? A great beer to get your hop fix with and still be able to drive home!

Reviews by UnderPressure:

More User Reviews:

Served from growler into a Stone nonic. Poured a brownish yellow-orange with a two finger light khaki colored head that subsided to half a finger very slowly. Maintained nice lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, toasted malt, nuttiness, citrus, and citrus hop. The flavor was of sweet malt, nuttiness, citrus, and citrus hop. It had a light feel on the palate with medium-high carbonation. Overall this was a pretty nice ESB. I really enjoyed the citrus aspect I got here which I have not had in an ESB before. It really tied everything together and helped to bring out the nuttiness aspect at you. A definite must try if you see it around on tap.

Pours a hazy orange-amber with an incredibly fluffy off-white head that exhibits amazing retention. Really pretty stuff. Aromas are of lightly toasted sweet caramel malt and pungent citrus Centennial hops. Taste follows the nose nicely, lots of floral citrus hops with a long-lasting toasted malt finish. Mouthfeel is creamy and smooth, with a touch-lower-then-medium body and nice carbonation. Overall a very nice take on the English Bitter style, one that is infinitely drinkable!

American Bitter pours a color somewhere between orange and amber with an impressive top that has some staying power and ends up leaving a decent amount of lace down the side of the glass. The nose has some sweetness to it but is mostly made up of citrus aromas. Taste is fantastic. A nice crisp hop bite of citrus and floral notes with a slight sweetness. I could go for a little less sweetness, but otherwise, a pretty solid flavor profile. Mouthfeel is creamy with a slight prickle from the carbonation.

Overall, I could drink this brew often without issues. A solid low ABV offering in an time when those are somewhat hard to come by.